UEFA Prepares Criminal Case Against FIFA President Gianni Infantino Over World Cup Sell-Off Plan

UEFA is preparing to launch criminal proceedings against FIFA president Gianni Infantino over his botched attempt to sell off stakes in the World Cup. European football's governing body has applied for the release of documents related to Infantino's FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, which involved seeking private investment in the World Cup and its other tournaments.

UEFA alleges Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing the normal governance processes of world football's governing body and failing to consult FIFA's Council, regional confederations, or member associations.

The request for evidence has been lodged in the United States for use in proceedings in Switzerland against both the embattled president himself and FIFA—who scrapped plans for the sell-off on August 1 after a global backlash—as well as the investment firm Thrive Capital, led by Joshua Kushner.

“In truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from FIFA's most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members, and other parties within the football family,” UEFA's application says.

“Infantino pushed the plan through internal FIFA approval only days earlier at a hastily convened meeting where a limited number of FIFA's management officials and employees – some of whom had never heard of the plan – were given mere hours.”

UEFA also claimed that the valuation of the stakes to be sold had not been independently verified and was too low. “Under the terms Infantino announced, those investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in FIFA's commercial arm for $4.2bn, implying an absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20bn, a figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer,” the application added.

“The secretive structuring, valuation, financing, and marketing inflicted direct and concrete injury on FIFA's reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of FIFA as well as its 211 members, including UEFA's 55 member associations.”

The sudden escalation in the war between football’s governing bodies comes just one day after reports emerged that UEFA was set to drop its threat of boycotting FIFA tournaments. Official confirmation was expected in Thursday's meeting of UEFA's executive committee and federation in Monaco, clearing the way for European teams to compete in next month's Under-20 Women's World Cup.